Prep wrestling: Glacier Peak 45, Meadowdale 31

SNOHOMISH — Defending state champion Sean Elledge came back from a week of illness to beat Ciaran Ball at 195 11-4 and get the Grizzlies started off right on their way to a 45-31 Wesco 3A South wrestling win. A scrappy Mats Haneburg also wrestled up a class for Glacier Peak and managed to get a second round pin after falling behind against Beck Millet.

The two highlight wins were balanced by a few tough losses that Grizzlies head coach Bryan Mossburg hopes his team can use as motivation. Glacier Peak remains undefeated, but it goes on the road next week to wrestle Wesco 4A North leading Snohomish.

At 195 Elledge faced Ball, who finished 5th at 195 in state last year. “It was a neat match to see,” said Mossburg. “Sean pretty much set the tempo. He’s actually been sick this week. He did a good job of getting himself prepared and focused and not letting that bother him.”

The final score was by no means a rout, and the six points earned by freshman Haneburg certainly helped. “(Haneburg) is our little scrapper, our chicken hawk. He’s not afraid of anyone.” said Mossburg. “He got behind early. He kept digging and fighting. He’s done this a few times now. He doesn’t stop. He ended up pulling up a key win for us.”

Mossburg stressed how big a jump 106-113 feels, and how the upset victory by the freshman energized the team.

“The guys were excited. This was a big one for us and for the team. We’re starting to pull together and feed off each other that way.”

It was not all perfect for the Grizzlies, however, and Mossburg did acknowledge there were some tough losses, including Morgan Smith’s pin of Tyler Sabin at 3:35. “He wrestled a tough match. It was nice to see our guy give him a little more of a go, but he is a solid wrestler and you definitely have to respect that.

“That is one of those motivators for our guys to the rest of the season. You’ve got to keep it going.”

The Grizzlies hope to keep it going rigth into Snohomish next week, the first time the two teams will meet head to head in a dual. “It is definitely a big one on the horizon for us,” said Mossburg. “We’re not tryign to make it any bigger than it is. We’re definitely not going to downplay it. We’re going to go there and wrestle hard. We’re stepping into their house. We have to be prepared like we would anybody else.”